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Gravity's Rainbow
Gravity's Rainbow - Oct-Dec 2020
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Matthew, Assistant List Master
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rated it 3 stars
Oct 01, 2020 07:41AM
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I have started reading this a while ago. I find it enormously challenging and have to take it very slowly. Not sure I will finish that before the and of the year. At least, I am still determined to keep going.
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So far, my one word for this book is "gross". This is not a commentary of the quality of the writing or whether I will end up liking it or not, there is just a lot of ewey, cringe-inducing moments so far.
Just finished it for the second time. A stupendous book; for my money, the most complex and best-written American novel in the last 50 years. Pynchon was robbed in 1974 when the Pulitzer Board refused him the prize. The story that moved me the most was the Pökler and Ilse episode. So much humor too! Loved it.
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I was reading about the Pulitzer controversy - very interesting! But, I have never put much stock what Pulitzer says ;)
As I wrote in this recent blog post, https://mfinocchiaro.wordpress.com/20..., it is hit and miss, but occasionally there are some really great discoveries to be made. But, they blew it on this one!
Maybe you reference this elsewhere, but I found this wiki invaluable: https://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki....
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Thank you for the reference guide - that is perfect!
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Very nice post! Based on the ones I have read, it appears that you and I are generally in agreement.
Thanks Matthew, I thought so too!
Michael wrote: "Maybe you reference this elsewhere, but I found this wiki invaluable: https://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki...."Wow!! This reference is amazing...Never thought such detailed guide would be available....Thanks!!
message 12:
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Matthew, Assistant List Master
(last edited Nov 25, 2020 08:04AM)
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rated it 3 stars
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Here is the link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finally trying this read this weekend. Yikes it is slow going.
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Good luck! I can't say it gets any "faster" but it gets weirder!
I'm not sure if my brain can handle this one right now, ha ha! I think I'll start with Foundation and see if I can get my brain to adjust to this one. I need to see if I can find a copy....
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I actually might be quiet worried if you are successful in adjusting your brain to this one! 😉😂🤪
I just accepted that there was very little I could do but go with the flow and accept the oddness - kind of what I did with Infinite Jest.
How does it compare to Clockwork Orange. I mean, that was weird, but I honestly enjoyed that one. Of course, it was a fraction of the length of this one, lol!
I have a lot of books on my plate, but maybe I'll tackle this one for 2021, much like I put off starting Les Mis for the longest time because of the length. In the case of Les Mis, I should have started it much sooner. But for this, I might take my time, ha ha!
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No comparison to that - cannot even try. Only comparison is Infinite Jest.
Infinite Jest sounds interesting. I am diverted again...Ok, on page 57. The first 40 pages were sludge, made no sense, had to set a TIMER to force myself to continue. And although 10 minutes worked the first time (btw, 10 minutes = 2.5 pages?!?), I fell asleep during the subsequent, contiguous attempt. 😳 I took that as my cue to decorate my whole house for Christmas.
That summarizes this book thus far. Also this:
Wait, what’s an Erlenmeyer flask? Huh, borosilicate. Oh, let me google, talk with scientist husband, consider merits of gag gifts of flasks and beakers for various sciency family/friends. Google, Amazon, wait, perhaps US manufacturers?
That said, the last 10 pages have gone much faster. But literally every page has something(s) to research. Interesting but it may take me until St Patty’s Day to finish.
